Wild Girl
by alienoctopus
Summary: In Fred and George's fifth year at Hogwarts (PoA), a strange girl is discovered in the Forbidden Forest, and it seems as if Dumbledore is the only one who knows who she is. But throughout the school year, Fred and George help the stranger learn about who she is and what happened to her family.
1. Stranger

**I hated picking a name for this character. I wanted to use Merida because I love the Pixar movie, Brave. Especially because the character is Scottish (this really doesn't come into play, but it's my character) and a bow pops up at some point. So I'm sorry if this story is ruined for you because of it.**

"Poppy!" Fifteen-year-old Fred Weasley called out as soon as he entered the Hogwart's hospital wing. He was followed by his brother, George, who looked exactly like Fred save for the very large, long, and pink tongue sliding out of his mouth.

Madame Pomfrey hustled out of her back office into the atrium of the hospital wing. "What on earth did you do to him?!" She exclaimed. George's enlarged tongue wiggled around as he tried to speak. "Which one's which?" She asked. As often as the Weasley twins were in the hospital wing, Madame Pomfrey still couldn't tell which twin was which.

"MMMmmph mm."

"I'm Fred. I think he's trying to tell you that he is George."

"Just sit." Madame Pomfrey said. Her hand waved at one of the beds in the middle of the wing. George sat on the bed, his tongue lapping at his side. Madame Pomfrey pinched and pulled it. George's eyes squinted. He tried to cry out in pain but the large pink muscle pouring from his mouth muffled it.

Before she could even speak, Fred started talking. "We were trying to make this potion and it worked, this is what we wanted it to do but we don't know how to fix it and I tried something but it made it even—"

"Of course it's a potion. What else would I expect from you two?" She interrupted.

"Well, I'm also excellent in Charms." Fred cheekily responded.

Madame Pomfrey ignored him. "

Hmm. I know what he needs." She shuffled to her back office.

Fred sat on the bed next to George. He could hear Madame Pomfrey rummaging through all of her potion ingredients.

"Mmm phmm mmph." George said.

"No, I don't think we'll get in trouble."

"Hmm mmm mmph mm phmm mm MMMmm?"

"Because you're my brother, that's how I know what you're saying."

There was a loud BANG in the entrance. Fred and George immediately cracked their heads to the door of the hospital wing.

Hagrid stood in the doorway. He was carrying something, it seemed, but his massive hands seemed to cover whatever it was. His voice boomed throughout the wing. "Poppy!"

Crashing could be heard from Madame Pomfrey's back office. She rushed out and looked at Hagrid, baffled. "I found 'er in the forest." He said.

Madame Pomfrey looked at what Hagrid was carrying.

"Put her down now."

Hagrid dropped what was in his arms on one of the first beds.

It was a girl. She looked small from where Fred and George were sitting. Her hair was wild and bright red. Her skin, most of which was covered in mud and dirt, looked burnt.

Madame Pomfrey pushed the hair from the girl's face and took a good look. "Sh-she's not a Hogwart's student."

Madame Pomfrey's observation made Fred and George very interested in this girl. She was a stranger. They knew Madame Pomfrey was right, too. There wasn't a soul in Hogwarts they didn't know.

"Hagrid, go get Dumbledore." Madame Pomfrey ordered.

She shook her head and her eyes caught George. She walked over to him and pulled a small vial out of her pocket. "Drink this. It will shrink your tongue back to what it was before. As soon as it's back to normal, leave." She returned to the girl's bedside and began to clean her face.

George did not take the potion. He motioned for Fred to sit next to him.

"If we can't see them, they can't see us." Fred confirmed, taking the seat, their backs turned away from the action.

They could hear Hagrid's footsteps enter the wing.

"Where was she?" It was unmistakably Dumbledore who asked.

"Deep in the forest. More than three miles in from our edge. She was passed out. She had a bunch'a weaponry with 'er, but I didn't carry it here."

"She doesn't go here, Headmaster." Madame Pomfrey said quietly.

"You are quite right about that, Poppy."

There was silence. "Call Severus." Dumbledore ordered.

Within moments, the doors to the hospital wing swooshed.

"Severus," Dumbledore said quietly, "do you recognize this girl?"

"That's impossible," Snape said slowly, "That's impossible, she's dead. Her entire family is dead. She can't be here."

"She ha' to come from somewhere. I know those woods and she wasn't ever there before now." Hagrid said.

"Should we find Remus?" Snape asked.

"No. Not yet. Let her wake first."

The Weasley twins couldn't figure out who this girl could be. All they knew is that she was supposed to be dead. How did Snape know who she is? What does their Defense Against the Dark Arts professor have to do with her?

A sound came from the bed the girl was in. She let out a faint murmur. Fred and George could hear her gulp down a goblet of water.

"Where am I?" Her voice was low and hoarse.

"You're at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Dumbledore said.

"How did I get here?" Fred and George could barely make out what she was saying.

"We were hoping you could tell us that." Dumbledore responded.

"What are you going to do to me?"

These words struck Fred. Paired with the course voice of the stranger, it was haunting to hear her believe she was to be tortured.

"We're not going to do anything to you but help you." Dumbledore asked.

"What?"

"Where did you come from?"

"The wolf. Please don't tell him I'm here."

The twins couldn't see, but the girl's eyes were on Professor Snape. She was talking to him more than she was Dumbledore.

George moaned. It was difficult to listen to a young girl who sounded to be in pain and fear. But the moan was much louder that George had anticipated.

"I told you boys to leave!" Madame Pomfrey yelled. "Take your potion and leave!"

George gulped down the potion and he and Fred hurried out of the hospital wing. However, they didn't leave without getting a good look at the wild girl that Hagrid brought in.

Madame Pomfrey was trying to clean off the girl's arms when the girl let out a shriek. "She's got a fractured shoulder." Madame Pomfrey said.

"I would like to talk to her alone, please." Dumbledore said.

"No." The girl whispered. "Don't leave me alone with _anyone_." Her eyes were still locked on Nape.

"Do not worry. I'm not going to hurt you."

The girl took a hard look at Dumbledore. She looked at his kindly blue eyes and tried to find the anger that she was so used to seeing.

"Fine." She said.

She watched Hagrid bumble out of the hospital wing, with Snape's flowing robes behind him.

"I know his voice." She said to Dumbledore.

"Whose voice?"

"Not the half-giant."

"How would you know his voice?"

"I've heard it before. I've never seen the man. But I know his voice."

"Where?" Dumbledore asked gently.

The girl tried to sit up in the bed. She cried out. Her shoulder simply hurt too much.

"Poppy will be able to fix that up for you, don't worry."

"The wolf. He talks with the wolf."

"The wolf?"

"Yes- The werewolf. Greyback." She said his name with acid.

Madame Pomfrey came back to the girl's bedside. "Here. Drink this." She handed the girl a glass filled with Skele-Gro.

"Ugh." The girl's face scrunched up and her head turned to the side.

"Terrible, isn't?" Dumbledore asked her. The girl shook her head.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"He called me Half-Blood. I think that's my name."

"I believe I know who you are."

The girl was wide-eyed. "I didn't know I was anyone."

"Thirteen years ago, there was an attack on your family. Do you know of the Death Eaters?"

"I've heard the words before."

"Your… _captor_," Dumbledore chose the word carefully, "is a Death Eater. There used to be many of them. They were followers of Voldemort—a powerful dark wizard."

"He's dead. I've heard him speak of a Voldemort. A Dark Lord. He's dead."

"One of these Death Eaters attacked your family. Travers, I believe. He's now in Azkaban. We thought all of the McKinnons had been killed."

"McKinnons?"

"Your mother's name was Marlene McKinnon. She was part of the opposition to Voldemort."

"And my father?"

"Your father was a Muggle. He was killed, as well."

"A Muggle? That means not hu—"

"A person who doesn't have magic."

The girl was still for a very long time. For once, Dumbledore had no idea what he was supposed to say to her.

"I had a family?" She asked. Dumbledore nodded.

"A mother?" The girl started to cry out in discomfort from the Skele-Gro.

Dumbledore had to think about his next question. "Why were you in the forest?"

"I was looking for Dumbledore."

"Why?"

"Because Greyback implied he's a threat. I knew if someone is a threat to Greyback, he would help me out."

"I can help you."

"Are you Dumbledore?"

"I am."

"You can help me?"

"Only if you'd want. You may stay here, at Hogwarts. We'll need to test your magical abilities when you're healed. Until then, you stay here in the hospital wing."

"I _knew_ you could help."

"Were you given a wand?" Dumbledore asked.

"No." She coughed.

"Were you taught any magic?"

"Yes."

"By whom?"

"By Greyback. An-and a stranger. I never saw his face."

"How long were you in the forest?"

"I ran from Greyback six moon cycles ago."

"That's quite a while. How did you survive? Do you have a wand?"

"I hunted. I made weapons. I have no wand."

"Well, I suppose after six months in the wilderness, you need some rest. Take a few days and then I will be back to test your magical ability."

Fred and George ran to the Common Room and sat down in the corner. They could not wait to get even to their dormitory. They were brimming with anticipation of finding out who this girl is and they needed to know as soon as possible.

George pulled out a piece of parchment from the inside of his robes and held it out in front of Fred and himself.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good." He whispered while waving his wand at the parchment. Ink slowly appeared on the page to reveal the words "The Marauders' Map" at the very middle. He unfolded the parchment to reveal a map of Hogwarts.

"Let's see who our mystery patient is." Fred said, beaming at the magic of the map as it fascinated him every time they used it.

"Ok. Hospital Wing…" George's finger followed the corridors with his finger until he reached the Hospital Wing.

"There's Poppy." Fred pointed to a set of footprint in Madame Pomfrey's office. Her name was scrawled underneath them.

"So that must be her." George said, staring at the name on the map.

"Merida Bleddyngreer. That's her name." Fred read, his eyes glued to the map.

"Who's name?" A voice pulled them out of the parchment. The twins looked up to see three too familiar faces.

"No one's name, Ronniekins." Fred answered boisterously in hopes of distracting Ron, Harry, and Hermione.

"What's that?" Hermione pointed at the map that George was trying to stuff back into his robes.

"Homework." George said.

"You don't do homework." Ron said.

"Well, maybe we wanted to start a new habit." Fred snapped.

"I don't believe you." Ron said. He went to grab the map from George's robes.

"Fine! We'll tell you" Fred gave in. George shot him a look. Fred shrugged and began to explain. "That isn't homework. It's ingredients to a potion George and I have been working on."

"Then why were you talking about someone's name?" Hermione asked.

"I'm glad you asked that, Hermione. We were in the Hospital Wing just moments ago when Hagrid brought in a girl. He said he found her in the Forbidden Forest."

"Why would a student go into the forest alone?" Harry asked. He winced at the thought of going back in the Forbidden Forest again.

"That's the thing—she's not a Hogwarts student."

"Then who is she?"

"All we know is her name. We wrote it down when Dumbledore said it." George interjected.

"Dumbledore was there?" Harry asked.

"Yes. He told her that her name is Merida Bleddyngreer."

"She didn't know her own name? Was she Obliviated?" Hermione asked.

"We're not sure. Madame Pomfrey kicked us out before we could find out any information." Fred lied.

"Do you think she has anything to do with Sirius Black?" Harry asked.

"Of course!" Hermione exclaimed. "He could have Oblviated her. Or maybe she's under the Imperius Curse!"

"The Imperius Curse?" Harry asked.

"It can make anyone do whatever you want. Dad told us a lot of Dark wizards claimed they were under the Imperius Curse so they wouldn't go to Azkaban when You-Know-Who was killed." Ron explained.

Fred and George could notice that Hermione tried to hide the fact that she was almost impressed with Ron for knowing this.

"We should go talk to Dumbledore." She said.

"I don't know if that's a good idea." George said.

"Yeah, this girl has clearly had a rough time." Fred said.

"You shouldn't put anything onto her."

Hermione looked at the twins closely. "I supposed Dumbledore would know if she was under Black's control." She said slowly.

The trio left the twins alone without saying anything more.

"Why did you tell them that?" George asked.

"For one, they'll probably find out anyway, and two, Hermione would not leave us alone if we knew something she didn't."

"Fair point."

The twins paused.

"Why don't we go visit Merida Bleddyngreer tonight?" Fred asked, pulling a vial filled with potion from his pocket.

"I believe that's a good idea, brother." George said, taking the map back out from his robes.


	2. Namer

**Hey, readers. I was surprised at the amount of favorites, reviews, and followers this received after the first three hours of posting the first chapter. Thanks, guys! **

**Anyway, I noticed some slight formatting errors in the first chapter. I was using plus signs as my page breaks, but I guess they didn't make it through in the post. So I will be using "-0-" now to indicate a page break. And I'll get to editing that soon. I'll see how many people start to read this first.**

-0-

Later that night, Fred and George snuck through the corridors to try and talk to the girl.

"So what do you think happened to her?" Fred asked.

"What do you mean?" George responded while reading the Marauders Map.

"She was so scared that Dumbledore was going to do something to her. What made her that way?"

"_That's_ the question you're thinking of? How about why was she in the Forbidden Forest?!"

The twins reached the entrance of the Hospital Wing.

"Don't go in," George whispered, "Snape's there."

-0-

As Fred and George left the Gryffindor common room to sneak into the Hospital Wing, Professor Snape was on his way to visit the same patient the twins meant to.

His robes swished around his feet as he entered.

"Poppy, Dumbledore asked that I talk to the girl alone, please." He drawled.

Madame Pomfrey nodded in understanding and took leave to her office.

The girl was on her side and wide-awake. "Does he know?" She asked when she heard Snape walk up to the foot of her bed.

"Does who know what?"

"Dumbledore. Does he know you know Greyback?" She sat up.

"You can't hold that over me." He said through gritted teeth.

"Does. He. Know." She repeated angrily.

"No!" Snape yelled. "No one knows. And you can't tell anyone because you're here _because_ of me."

"So it is you. You're the voice." She said. She looked down at her dirt-covered body in shock.

"I taught you. I gave you the tools to escape."

"If you could have helped me escape, why didn't you save me? You've been here all that time and you couldn't have taken me away?" The girl was yelling, her voice still hoarse.

"I have my reasons." Snape said coolly.

"And what are they?"

"Listen," he started speaking very quietly, "I _helped_ you. I taught you everything you know about magic and survival—I was the one who was able to hold off Greyback so you could get yourself here."

"Fine," she said bitterly, "I won't say anything so long as you tell me everything you can about me."

Snape took a breath. "Your mother was a witch, Marlene McKinnon. She was part of a force against Voldemort. She married a Muggle, Seamus Bleddyngreer. The Death Eaters quickly got word of this and one of them attacked your family—Travers. He brutally killed every member of your family—"

"—How?"

"Because of the war, a lot of wizarding families lived all together for protection. Travers was able to pick off your family one by one. He burned the house. But he did not kill you. Travers took you and handed you off to Greyback before he was carted off to the prison, Azkaban. When the scene was investigated, it was assumed you were dead along with everyone else."

The girl nodded, barely able to process what Snape was telling her. Dumbledore had told her most of the story but somehow, it hit her harder when Snape said it. Perhaps it was the familiarity they had or because Snape spoke with more knowledge of what happened to her family.

The girl gulped. "What's my name?" She asked.

"What?"

"My _name_. I'm sure it is not Half-Blood. What is my name?" She asked again.

At that exact moment, a loud popping sound erupted near the entrance of the Hospital Wing. Snape's was immediately distracted by the sound. "One moment." He said. He turned to the door and the popping sound started again. He exited the Hospital Wing a found a cluster of bubbles floating about. Within moments, the sound came back as each bubble burst. One the last bubble popped, another cluster of bubbles appeared further down the corridor. Professor Snape followed them.

Once they knew they had properly distracted the potions master, Fred and George entered the Hospital Wing.

They looked upon the girl, who was now back to laying on her side and unable to see the twins.

"You're not him," she whispered as the twins walked in.

"Excuse me?" George asked, confused.

"There are," she sniffed, "two of you here, and neither of you are the man who was talking to me."

"Why would you be talking to Snape?" Fred asked.

"Because he knows my name." The girl snapped. "I've been called Half-Blood all my life. I just wanted my name. And now the man who was going to tell me is gone. He was distracted."

"That was our doing," Fred began to explain, "Trust us, you don't want to be talking to _him._"

"Well now I'll never know and it's your goddam fault." She said acidly.

The girl was now sitting up in her bed. Fred and George examined her from where they were standing. She appeared greatly malnourished yet muscular—almost intimidatingly so. The twins know that if she was not so tired, she could possibly overpower them. Her hair looked as if it might be a bright red, similar to the typically Weasley ginger, with messy and cascading curls, but most of it was dirty and matted.

"We know your name." Fred told her, very quietly.

The girl looked Fred straight in the eyes as soon as he said it. The piercing blue made Fred uncomfortable. "You can't." She said shakily. "You can't know my name. No."

"We do." Fred confirmed. He stepped closer to her bed. "And we'll tell you _if_ you tell us how you got here."

The girl pursed her lips. "No."

Fred furrowed his brow and looked at his brother.

"You have no idea of what your name is?" George asked.

"Bleddyngreer. I just learned that part. It was my father's name. But I've always been called Half-Blood, so that could mean something." She played with her fingernails.

Fred and George exchanged the look of sympathetic half-frowns.

"Merida." Fred told her.

"_What_?" She asked with a tone of disgust.

"Your name is Merida."

"Merida Bleddyngreer." She said quietly. "That's a terrible name. I might prefer Half-Blood."

"Trust me—you don't." Fred told her.

"Who are you to tell me anything?" She spat at them.

The twins felt as if they had offended her.

"I'm George," George held his hand to his chest, "and this is Fred."

"You're doubles."

"We are." They said at the same time.

"I don't trust you." She said. The twins understood—they had given her no reason to trust them. She drew a long breath. "Go. He is coming back."

The twins nodded at each other and left without saying anything. Once they turned around the corridor, they heard Snape's footsteps near the hospital wing.

"How did she know?" George asked as they hurried back to the common room.

"That Snape was on his way? I have no idea."

-0-

As the twins made their way back to the Gryffindor common room, Snape entered the Hospital Wing. He still needed to speak to Merida about her remaining family. But when he looked upon her bed, Merida was back on her side. Her eyes were closed and she was breathing heavily and slowly.

Snape sighed and exited. He would have to talk to Dumbledore about this girl's future care.


	3. Teacher

Dumbledore was seated at his desk. Fawkes, his phoenix, was perched on the end of the desk.

He looked across the desk where Professor Snape was seated and smiled.

"Did she recognize you, Severus?" He asked.

"I don't know how, but she did." Snape admitted.

"She was deprived of a lot of sensory, I believe, during her captivity. She'll recognize your voice, your smell, perhaps even the sound of your robes."

"I don't believe she knows exactly which side I'm on."

"Which is very good—you do not need your cover being shown."

"And she's angry at me."

"Because you didn't save her." Dumbledore said.

"Yes."

"You couldn't have, Severus. You could have only helped so much. We had to believe in the girl to make her own escape. Fenrir Greyback will be a major player if the Death Eaters ever strike. He needs to know you're on his side."

There was silence.

"Are you telling Remus?" Snape asked.

"In time."

"He will know her. She looks just like her father."

"I will tell him, do not worry about that. But she is going to know that he's a werewolf. She grew up with one—she will not trust him. She may reveal him for her own protection."

"She knew it was me and said nothing."

"They will know in time. Did you tell her name?"

"I told her parents' names. She knows Bleddyngreer."

"Then that's what we should reveal to her first. How well did you teach her?" Dumbledore asked.

"As well as I could. Greyback believes that she has a better curse arsenal than Lord Voldemort himself. She should surpass the qualifications of any seventh year student."

"I do not think it is wise to put her two years ahead." Dumbledore said.

"It is not. She has difficulty reading. It was always too dark to focus on."

"Then placing her in her fifth year should be beneficial. Perhaps she will be sorted with the Ravenclaws—they will have no problem helping her with reading."

"Then should I go fetch her?" Snape asked.

Dumbledore dismissed Professor Snape.

-0-

When Snape got to the Hospital Wing, Merida was up and pacing around the room.

"I need to get out of here!" She said when she noticed Snape.

"That's what you're doing." He said.

"Out of this room? Finally. It's far too big." She said. "Where are you taking me?"

"To evaluate your magical abilities." He said.

"Don't you know my magical abilities?"

"I ask of you not to speak of our previous relationship."

"Because you know _him_. You don't want everyone to know."

"You don't know anything of it."

"But I do."

"As far as I'm concerned, you owe me your life. I will take you silence in the matter."

"Fine." She said simply.

"Acid pops." Snape said to the statue that hid Dumbledore's office.

When the staircase was revealed, Merida couldn't help but gasp in awe. The only magic she knew was from Snape and Fenrir Greyback. Hogwarts was a completely new world to her.

Merida followed Snape up the staircase and into the office.

She recognized Dumbledore, who was sitting behind his desk still.

"Please, sit. Severus, you may leave us." Dumbledore indicated to the chair in front of his desk.

Snape nodded curtly to Dumbledore before exiting the office.

"Now, I think I should mention your name." He said once the door closed behind Snape.

"I know my name. It's Merida Bleddyngreer."

Dumbledore was put back. "How did you know that?"

"I was told by the doubles."

"The doubles?"

"The boy and his double."

Though he was not completely sure, Dumbledore had a hunch at what had happened.

"You're not here for me to question. Please, Miss Bleddyngreer, how well do you know the subject of Transfiguration?"

"Transfiguration?"

"Using magic to change the physical properties of things." Dumbledore took his wand and flicked it at a paperweight on his desk. It transformed into a small mouse. The mouse leaped off the desk and started to run towards the door.

Without even looking, Merida outstretched her arm and grabbed the mouse. She handed it back to Dumbledore, who promptly turned it back into a paperweight.

"I can't perform magic without a wand."

Dumbledore smiled and handed Merida his own wand. She quickly flicked her wrist while muttering an incantation. The same paperweight turned into a mouse, just as Dumbledore had performed. Just as quickly as she turned the paperweight into a mouse, she turned it back.

"Impressive." Dumbledore noted. He knew then that it was best for Merida to be with fellow fifth-years. But he continued testing her. She was unskilled in Divination, and did not know much about History of Magic, but her Potions and Transfiguration skills were incredibly. Most remarkable, however, were her skills in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Snape taught her incredibly well for her being, well, trapped at the time.

"Well, Miss Bleddyngreer," Merida winced at her name, "I think you'll do well being placed with the fifth-year students. Being with people your age will be of use to you."

"So, where do I go from here?" Merida asked.

At that moment, Professor McGonagall came in holding a tattered old wizard's hat.

"We're about to determine that. This," Dumbledore took the hat from McGonagall, "is the Sorting Hat. There are four houses at Hogwarts—Ravenclaw; for the clever, Gryffindor; for the brave, Slytherin; for the cunning. And Hufflepuff; for the loyal. The Sorting Hat will place you in a house that you will fit in. You'll be with other students with similar interests." Dumbledore explained. "Why don't you try it on?" Dumbledore placed the hat on Merida's head. She shifted uncomfortably.

_A bit old to be sorted now, yes?_ The voice of the hat boomed in her ear.

"You're talking to me? How?" She thought.

_Not a Ravenclaw, clearly._

"What?"

_I don't think you'd be a good fit for Hufflepuff, either. You've yet to have anyone to be loyal to._

Merida didn't know what to say, or think, to the hat. She didn't even know hats could talk to her.

"GRYFFINDOR!" The Sorting Hat bellowed throughout Dumbledore's office.

Dumbledore smiled knowingly. "This is Professor McGonagall," he introduced, "She is the head of the Gryffindor house. She will lead you to the common room and can answer any questions you have."

"Thank you." Merida muttered. She stood up out of her chair.

"Come with me." Professor McGonagall said. Merida followed her out the door and down the staircase.

-0-

**Thanks for reading, guys. You're the best. I'm sorry everything I posted today was rather boring. But everything will get exciting. Merida is going to make some friends in the next chapter. Maybe some enemies, too. Then, finally, she gets to know Fred and George.**

**Which is something I'd like to apologize for. There hasn't been a lot of Fred and George yet in this story and that might be a deal breaker for some readers. But, I promise once they come into the story a little bit more, they're not leaving.**


	4. Helper

**HEY YOU GUYS. If you have any suggestions for a good Fred/Hermione or Fred/OC fic, please let me know of it.**

**I tried writing this four times and Word kept closing on me. Of course, I had not saved it the first time…or second…or third or fourth. But now I've got my wits about me so this should go a lot smoother. This is going to be a serial story—that is I will start a new series for each year at Hogwarts and beyond. And this first series is going to be the hardest to get through because I want everyone to be friends so I can actually get the good plots going. **

**BUT I HAVE A QUESTION. I'm going to have to break some canon, as most fanfiction does. So answer me this: Cedric Diggory or Oliver Wood? **

**Also I apologize for my overuse of the mash. It's one of my favorite forms of punctuation.**

-0-

Merida followed Professor McGonagall through the corridors and moving staircases, trying to make note of every turn. Finally, they reached a stop.

"The common room, I suspect, will be rather empty. All of the students should be in classes as it is only midday." McGonagall said to Merida.

"Where is it?" Merida asked.

McGonagall smiled. One of her favorite things about Hogwarts was the first years' reactions to all of the new magic—hidden rooms, moving staircases, Professor McGonagall could sense Merida's wonder at all of it. "The common room is hidden behind this portrait."

Merida looked at where McGonagall was indicating, unsure of what a portrait even was. She wiped her brow when she realized a portrait must be a painting—something that she was aware of.

"Who is this?" The painting boomed. Merida's attention was brought to the subject—a fat woman in classical Grecian robes. Her face was covered in make-up and a scowl.

"This is a new student. She's been sorted into Gryffindor." McGonagall explained.

"This late in the year?"

"It's only been two months into the school year. She will adjust fine, I believe. _Fortuna major_." McGonagall said. The portrait of the Fat Lady swung open, revealing a large hole in the wall.

"A password will open up the corridor. Right now, the password is Fortuna major. It will change, so try to keep up to date with that." McGonagall explained as they entered through the hole.

Merida opened her mouth but forgot the question she was about to ask. She was taken aback from what she saw beyond the hole.

The Gryffindor common room was large and circular. Small alcoves were built into the wall. Every piece of furniture glimmered with gold and red accents. In the closest wall was the largest, and up to this point only, fireplace she had ever seen. Surrounding it were large armchairs and plush couches that she would have been unable to dream of.

The windows had to be the best part of the common room. Merida never had a window and now there was practically an entire wall of them in front of her.

"The girls' dormitories are up the left staircase. There should be, luckily, a spare bed in the fifth year girls' room. I will leave you to get acquainted for the rest of the day and will present you with a schedule of classes in the morning."

Merida could only nod as she was taken aback from the view of the Quidditch pitch beyond the windows.

A moment after Professor McGonagall left, however, to feeling of comfort Merida felt was overwhelmed with a sense of panic and anxiety. She knew no one her. She had very little idea of how to navigate the castle.

Was she to introduce herself? Should she find this dormitory and wait for her peers to show up and hopefully help her out?

Merida looked down at her body. What was she to wear? She was still in the clothes that the half-giant—she believed he was named Hagrid—found her in the forest. Her pants and shirt were torn and still dirty. Her arms were still cut up badly, as well. For the first time, she felt she needed a wash.

At that moment, she heard the portrait door open and voices coming from the hole.

Following her instincts, she hid behind one of the large chair around the fireplace.

She had yet to acquire a wand, but she knew she could hold her own in a fight if whoever was coming was a threat.

"No one's in the common room at this time. We won't be ratted out." A voice that Merida had heard before said.

"Maybe someone else decided to skive off today." A second voice said.

"Then they'll keep their mouths shut. Come on, Georgie. We need a day off.

As soon as she could see the people the voices belonged too, Merida recognized them.

"It's you." She said, coming out from hiding.

Fred and George Weasley jumped back in freight. "Where did you come from?" They asked in unison.

"I'm a Gryffindor." She said plainly. "But I know no one, and I haven't any robes or books or a wand, even. I suppose it must be hard to know."

The twins stepped closer to Merida, but she would simply step back.

"We're not going to hurt you, you know. Let us help you out, yeah?" Fred said to her.

Merida nodded, allowing the twins to get close to her. "Fred Weasley," Fred introduced himself. He held out his hand for Merida to shake. She took it and gripped hard.

"And your double?" Merida asked.

"I'm George Weasley." George smiled wide and shook her hand as well. "We're what people call twins. And I think you might just fit right into our robes from third year."

"I dunno, George. She's rather short, maybe even first year."

"Second."

"Probably. Follow us." Fred said, putting has arm around Merida's shoulder. She recoiled a bit, but Fred squeezed her shoulder to reassure her. "We're not going to hurt you." Fred didn't want to get used to saying this, but he figured it might be the only way to get Merida to go along with him and George.

Merida balled her hands as Fred and George led her up to the boys' dormitories.

"This is our dormitory. Fred sleeps there," George pointed to one of the four poster beds, "and I sleep here." He finished with sitting on his own bed.

"Now, let's get you into some new robes." Fred said while rummaging through his trunk. "Here's one from not too long ago, before our growth spurt." He pulled out an old school robe. The edges were slightly torn and seemingly eternally dirty, as it had gone through most of the Weasley children.

He handed the robe to Merida. She fiddled around with the fabric. After a moment, Fred went to help her.

Merida felt his hands touch her shoulders from behind. The feeling startled her yet felt familiar. Unfortunately, familiar to Merida was not a good thing. She turned quickly on her heel and punched Fred square in the chest.

Fred keeled over. He coughed hard, trying to catch his breath. George was lying on his bed in a similar manner, but instead of coughing, he was laughing. "She just punched you!" He said in-between laughs.

Merida looked mortified. She had no idea what to do or say. All she knew is that she felt a little bad about what she had just done.

"I don't know what to say. I didn't mean it?"

George sat up again, finally recovering from his laughing bout. "Well, first you help Fred up," Merida listened and extended a hand to Fred, who took it, "and tell him that you're sorry for hitting him."

"I'm sorry for hitting you." She said to Fred, who was still catching his breath. This would be the first apology she ever made.

"It's quite," Fred coughed, "all right. Just don't do it again. Come on—new robes!"

Merida was taken aback. Fred did not hit her back. He did not threaten her or advance towards her. Merida felt something she had rarely felt before—comfort. She allowed Fred to help put on the robe.

The ends flittered past Merida's feet, but only barely. It would be unlikely that someone as quick-footed as she would trip over the hem.

"Thank you." Merida muttered as she examined the sleeves.

"It could be a bit shorter." George said.

"But it'll be all right." Fred answered. "Now, books. What year are you?" He asked.

"Fifth."

"So you're fifteen? Er, when's your birthday?"

"Birthday? I don't know. I'm told I'm fifteen, so I am."

"You don't know your birthday?" The twins asked in unison. The thought alone, to them, was incredulous.

"I don't really know of birthdays."

"Well a birthday is a celebration of your day of birth." Fred explained.

"I figured that out."

"So you don't know when your birthday is?"

"No."

"Dumbledore might know." George mused.

"So, books. We could probably help you out in whatever classes we have together, which we will since we're Gryffindors. We don't use the books much anyway."

"Besides, you might need some catching up seeing as you haven't been here—"

"—or maybe we'll need help catching up if you know more than us."

"Professor McGonagall, I think," the twins nodded to let he know she was correct, "is giving me a schedule tomorrow morning. Dumbledore tested me in all of the subjects."

"Have you gone to another magic school before?" George asked.

"No." Merida answered, fearing what was going to happen next.

"Then how did you get placed in fifth year?!"

"I learned a lot at…at home."

Fred and George shared a curious look. They knew there was more to this girl's story. They also knew, however, that she would not want to be probed about whatever happened.

In his mind, George took inventory of what they learned. He knew her name was Merida Bleddyngreer, and he knew that they knew her name before she did. She was in the Forbidden Forest for some time before Hagrid found her. She did not grow up with her parents—they were dead. She was assumed dead, as well, but clearly was not. She had some sort of a connection to a wolf, and somehow to Snape. Aside from the fact that she is now a fifth year Gryffindor, that's all they knew. He didn't recognize her surname so he couldn't guess at who her family was or how they died.

"So why don't we give you a tour and maybe visit good old Minnie to find out about a wand for you?" Fred suggested. He took Merida's hand in his.

"I think that sounds good, Fred." George said, jovially taking Merida's other hand.

She smiled strangely. "All right," she agreed, "show me around."

Fred grinned. He was hoping that maybe after showing her Hogwarts—and maybe even some secrets about Hogwarts that only he and George seemed to know—Merida would open up and tell them where she came from. Maybe they would take her to the kitchens. He was sure she needed a good meal, and that she had never seen house elves before. He, and he could tell George felt the same, felt a surge of excitement. Most of what they would show to Merida would be new to her. She would get to see this brand new, magical, warm, fantastic world.


	5. Liar

**You might just scroll past this, but if you don't: In the far, far future, Merida has some sort of relationship (I don't want to give away too much). It can work two ways—it can be with either Cedric Diggory or Oliver Wood. Either would break canon, but the story line it inspires is great. I want my readers' opinions on which I should choose. Diggory evokes a lot more emotion whereas Wood is a lot more fun. Your choice, guys.**

**Also, if you know any good Fred/Hermione or Fred/OC fics, suggest them!**

-0-

"That was incredible." Merida said as her and the Weasley twins exited the kitchens. "I never knew there were other creatures."

"Lots of them—" Fred said.

"—Goblins—" George added.

"—Veelas—"

"—Leprechauns, even."

Merida felt excited for possibly the first time in her life. She had just witnessed hundreds of little house elves preparing dinner for the students. Before that, she explored the castle with Fred and George. Moving staircases, talking paintings, ghosts… Hogwarts held so much wonder and whimsy that Merida couldn't even imagine.

Around the corridor, Merida could hear footsteps. Instinctively, and soundlessly, she hid behind a column, pulling Fred and George with her.

"What are you doing, woman?!" They exclaimed.

"Keep your voice down." Merida whispered.

"Want to tell us why, exactly?" Fred asked.

"I heard footsteps."

Fred shook his head. "This is a _school_. There are _students_. What did you expect?"

Merida opened her mouth but couldn't find anything to say.

"We're the only students she's met, I think. Yeah?" George asked. Merida nodded her head.

"Well, don't worry. No one here will hurt you. Don't need to go hiding behind something every time someone turns a corner." Fred pulled her out from the hiding spot.

"But I don't know anyone yet. How do I know if I can trust them?"

"Well, you know us." George said.

"Yeah, and you can trust us, right?"

"No." Merida did not hesitate to answer.

"We showed you around the castle—gave away some secret corridors, too—gave you some robes and you don't trust us?" Fred asked. He was insulted.

"I just met you. And, in fact, if there is one thing I learned it's that the more time you spend with a person, the less you can trust them."

Fred and George were brimming with questions. But Merida just kept leaving them empty. She never addressed whom she grew up with, or how she knows everything she does.

The students who were rounding the corner earlier passed the three Gryffindors without a second glance. But then the halls got more and more crowded. Classes were ending.

"Well, I suppose we should go visit Minnie about your wand, then, yeah?" George suggested.

"Er, sure." Merida said. She was feeling suffocated by the sheer amount of people around her. Fred and George were not unobservant of this. They led Merida through a secret passageway the get to Professor McGonagall's office with little foot traffic.

-0-

"Ah, yes. The headmaster has spoken with me about this," McGonagall said when Fred and George helped explain Merida's predicament, "there is a Hogsmeade weekend coming up soon. I will be escorting you from Hogsmeade to Diagon Alley, where you can purchase a wand and your books. I see you have acquired your robes somehow." She noted. Fred and George grinned proudly.

"Purchase? I don't have any money." Merida felt that now familiar overwhelming feeling.

"I'm sure Dumbledore will be able to help you out. Since you're here, I have your timetable."

Merida looked at McGonagall, puzzled.

"For your classes." She clarified. She handed Merida a small piece of paper. Fred and George scrambled to get a look at it.

"Charms—" Fred read.

"—Transfiguration—" George followed.

"—Horology—"

"—Potions—"

"—Defense Against—"

"—History of Magic—

"—Oh, look at that, Care of Magical Creatures and Divination!"

"We have the same schedule." The twins finished in unison.

"Most Gryffindors do." McGonagall said. But despite the fact that they would have had almost the same schedule no matter what, the twins beamed. They were fully convinced they were meant to be friends with this girl.

Merida shifted uneasily. "I hardly have any idea of what those things are."

"I would trust that you do. The headmaster placed you in these classes after he assessed your abilities." McGonagall assured.

Merida bit her lip. She had to accept this. It would be the only way she can remain safe.

"You must be getting to the Great Hall; dinner is starting." McGonagall dismissed the three.

-0-

"No one has any idea that you've been helping her, Severus?" Dumbledore asked. He stroked Fawkes, whose plumage was growing brighter with each pet.

"Greyback does," Snape answered, "but he believes I was teaching her solely the Dark Arts."

"And why would he think that?"

"Because it was the only way to teach her anything. I couldn't take her from him. The Death Eaters already question my allegiance. I could only convince Greyback that she needed to learn and master the Dark Arts for her to become the ultimate weapon."

"That's what the goal was?"

"Yes. Whether or not Voldemort ever returns, most Death Eaters have a plan to destroy muggles and muggleborns. Greyback wanted to create a werewolf with more bloodlust than even he."

"Do you think she could be dangerous?"

"Under certain circumstances, of course. Though I tried my best to give her a more _fruitful_ education, it was inevitable that she learned dark magic from both Greyback and myself. I'm sure she has had other correspondence with Death Eaters, as well."

"She'll need to be monitored, then. And she knows it's you?"

"She does. The girl spent most of her time deprived of sight. Greyback kept her in the pitch black far too often. She's able to recognize my voice, and knowing Greyback, my scent. But she has promised to keep quiet. No one at this school can know that I knew she wasn't dead."

"You did a fair job educating her. Her magical ability is far beyond her years."

"I know."

"I think, after some dinner, we need to speak to Remus." Dumbledore said, rising from his seat.

-0-

"I really do not want to go in there." Merida said before the entrance to the Great Hall.

"Aren't you hungry?" George asked.

"No. We ate in the kitchens."

"You had a biscuit in the kitchens _hours_ ago." Fred said.

Merida looked at them. Puzzled, she asked, "Is that not more than enough for the day?"

The twins smiled at her sympathetically. They hadn't realized that Merida had lived in the Forbidden Forest for months, and they're not sure where she was before that but it can't have been too great. She had probably gone days without eating anything.

"Trust us—you won't want to miss dinner. It will be more magical than anything you've seen today." George said. He and Fred practically danced Merida to the Gryffindor table.

Merida was terrified. She had not met anyone else from Gryffindor and had no idea how to talk to anyone. All she knew what that someone was going to ask her questions and she was not willing to answer.

"Here we are." Fred said, sitting down amongst a group of people. George motioned for Merida to sit in between he and Fred. She obliged.

Immediately, that part of the table stared at her.

"Who's your friend?" A boy asked. He was dark-skinned with long dreadlocks. His eyes were large and Merida thought they had to be the deepest eyes she will ever see.

"What house are you in?" A pretty girl asked. Her shiny dark hair skimmed the top of her shoulders.

"G-Gryffindor." Merida stammered.

"Really? I've never noticed you before. I think I would remember that hair." The boy said.

Merida wanted to shrink into her robes and disappear.

"She's a new fifth year—" Fred started.

"—She was homeschooled, but her dad thought it time to send her to Hogwarts—" continued George,

"—She's here two weeks late because her father wanted to take her on one last vacation before sending her off."

Merida couldn't be more thankful to have met Fred and George.

"Cool. I'm Lee." The boy introduced himself.

"Katie." Said the girl.

"I'm Merida." Merida answered with a little bit more confidence.


	6. Player

Hey, guys. I need to address an issue.

I am so glad you're reading this. You cannot imagine how over the moon I am about that. I appreciate it. I really do.

And if you're going to review this story or send me a message about it (or any of my stories) FANTASTIC! Really, it's awesome that you would take the time to write to me.

However, I do not appreciate "please update soon" as a review. I've had this review on this and my other two stories a handful of times and it bothers me to the point where I just delete them.

You know what wouldn't bother me? "Hey, I really like your story/think you should change this. Please update soon!" or some variation of that. Telling me to update soon, even when you say please, is not going to make it happen. If you really think I need the reminder, message me.

**And now onto my note about this story. Some insight on how I write: I have a pretty nice outline on what happens. Really important chapters are already in the works if not finished. Aside from that, I write as I go. I pick which scenes need to happen in the chapter and write it.**

**Thank you for reading. Also I'm really hungover.**

-0-

"I'm glad you could come, Remus." Dumbledore said. He was seated behind his desk, as per usual. Fawkes was not next to him, however.

"Of course I'd come. What's this about?" Remus Lupin asked as he sat in the seat opposite Dumbledore.

"Do you remember Marlene McKinnon? She was—"

"—In Gryffindor with me. We were good friends. Albus, you know this already."

"She was killed by a Death Eater."

"Her, and her children, her husband… Albus, I can't forget this."

"Her son was killed, yes. Terribly brutal."

Remus was getting anxious and angry. It seemed, to him, that Dumbledore had summoned him to talk about his dead friend and her equally dead family. "Fergus and Merida," Remus said quietly, "they were beautiful children."

Dumbledore was unsure of what to say to Remus. He coughed.

"What are you trying to say?" Remus asked, his voice still quiet.

"The youngest, Merida, wasn't killed."

Remus stared at Dumbledore. What he was saying was impossible. Remus had surveyed the scene himself. The child had been blown to bits. "She can't be."

"She showed up only a few days ago."

"How?" Remus's mouth hung open in disbelief.

"The Death Eater that killed the Bleddyngreer family, Travers, didn't kill Merida. He handed her off to another Death Eater. She has been living with him her entire life until her escape. Which was, if I understand the girl, six months ago."

"How did you find her?"

"She found Hogwarts."

Remus tried to process this information. He was out of his seat. He paced around Dumbledore's office angrily. His footsteps could be heard from three stories below. "Which Death Eater? Who took her?" He finally asked.

"Fenrir Greyback."

He fell back into his chair. He couldn't move anymore. He didn't want to believe what he was hearing. Remus wished that the girl were actually dead.

"She's not…"

"It appears that Greyback had not yet turned the girl."

"What was he doing with her?"

"From what I can guess, he was going to raise her to be the perfect killing machine. Unfortunately, it seems that the girl is much smarter than he."

"Where is she?"

"In Gryffindor."

Through his anger, Remus could feel a sense of pride in his chest.

"Do I get to talk to her?"

"I would suggest not to."

"I'm her godfather and I can't talk to her?"

"Remus, this is all new to her. It is not wise to overwhelm the girl."

"Why even tell me, then?"

"Because this is better than you recognizing her in your class," Dumbledore said simply, "she looks just like her father."

Remus's memory went alight. He remembered the first time Marlene introduced him to her husband-to-be Seamus Bleddyngreer. He was a muggle—completely unaware of magic until the war caused them to run. He was a thin, muscular man with bright red curls sprawling to just past his ears. Remus recalled a time when Marlene said that she just wanted to swim in his crystal blue eyes.

He was near tears. "I have to see her and not say anything? I have to see her and not say anything?"

"Until we know she can handle it."

-0-

Merida tucked herself away in a corner of the Gryffindor common room, accompanied by Fred, George, Lee, and Katie.

She laughed as Fred shot spells at first years, transfiguring their quills into turkey legs.

"Have you met any of the girls in your year yet?" Katie asked Merida.

"You and Lee are the only people I've met. Aside from Fred and George, of course."

"I know Angelina. She's in your year. She's on the Quidditch team with me."

"Quidditch? I don't know what that is." Merida may have said that a little too loudly, as a booming, "What did you just say?!" came from across the room. She looked at Fred and George who, though grinning, looked terrified of the boy who was now approaching them.

"Who just said they don't know what Quidditch is?" The boy asked, his Scottish brogue thick and loud.

"I did." Merida answered quietly.

"How do you not know Quidditch? Who are you, even?"

"She's new, Wood." George answered

"She was raised outside of the wizarding world." Said Fred.

The boy looked at Merida inquisitively. "What's your name?"

"Merida." She answered—loudly this time.

"I'm Oliver." He stuck his hand out to shake her hand. Merida took it.

"Strong grip you've got. You a bit too small, girl, but you might make a good beater."

"I'm sorry?"

Oliver sighed. "It's a Quidditch position," he turned to the rest of the group, "please explain to her what Quidditch is, or I will."

The twins laughed heartily. "I think we'll explain it to her," Fred said, "I wouldn't want to put Merida through a Quidditch lesson from you. You might hit her with a broomstick." Everyone laughed.

Oliver smiled widely at Merida. "I'll see you 'round, yeah?" He said.

"Er, yeah, sure." Merida responded, trying to mimic how casual Fred and George always seem.

Once Oliver was a decent distance away, Katie began to giggle.

"What's so funny?" Lee asked her.

"Merida, you've been a Gryffindor for what, a day? And you've already caught the eye of Oliver Wood."

Fred snorted. "Wood only has eyes for Quidditch. We all know this!"

"I dunno, Fred," Katie said twirling the ends of her hair in her fingers, "He was pretty quick to talk to Merida. And he sort of offered to teach her Quidditch."

"Exactly! He needed a reason to talk about Quidditch."

"Sure." Katie winked at Merida.

"Oi, who's this?" A new voice interrupted the group. Merida looked at the source of the voice and was taken aback. She had never seen anyone as beautiful as the girl she saw before her.

The girl was tall—her height matched that of Fred and George. Her skin was the darkest Merida had ever seen, and over her high cheekbones, she looked regal. So much so that Merida could have been convinced that the girl was royalty.

"My name is Merida." She said.

"Angelina." She said, her voice as smooth as silk.

"Oh, Angie, Angie, Angie… You look beautiful tonight, has anyone said that yet?" George said.

Angelina smiled. "What do you want, George?"

"Our friend Merida is a new fifth year and she needs to be shown the dormitories. We were hoping you could help her out."

"Of course I can. Just let me know when you want to go up, yeah?" Angelina said to Merida.

"I wouldn't mind going now. I'm a little tired." Merida admitted.

"So early? It's only almost midnight!" Fred argued.

"If she said she's tired, then she's tired, Fred." Angelina defended. "Come up, I'll show you to our beds."


	7. Questioner

**Anyone who read the last chapter will recognize most of this because it's mostly the same chapter. I rewrote the ending because there's a plot line I negated in the original writing that I want to follow through with.**

**So truck through the first two-thirds of this chapter if you already read it because a lot changed. **

**Enjoy.**

-0-

"Waiting for me, I see." Angelina said when she came down from the girls' dormitories.

"Well, you _and_ Merida." Fred said.

"She'll be down soon. I had to lend her one of my uniforms because she didn't have anything aside from that old robe. What's up with her, anyway? She comes here four years and a month too late, she has nothing for school, she can't tell me where she lived before or who her family is. Who _is_ she?" Angelina asked.

"We're not entirely sure ourselves. But she's been really," Fred paused to think of the right word, "_cool_, so does it really matter where she's from?"

"No, no I guess not. She's just strange, is all."

Within a second, Merida ran down the girls' staircase and joined Fred, George, and Angelina.

She looked very silly in Angelina's clothes. The dark grey skirt landed far past her knees and hung loosely around her hips. The end of the Gryffindor tie poked through the edge of the heather sweater, of which the sleeves were too long for Merida's arms.

Despite how poorly Angelina's uniform fit her, Merida looked clean and showered for the first time since Fred and George saw her. Her hair was not matted and dirty, and now appeared brighter and curlier. Her skin, though still a little sun burnt, was not caked in mud.

Fred smiled at her. "Ready for your first day of classes?"

"No," Merida said, "I don't have any books or supplies—I don't even have a wand yet."

"I'm sure your professors have been informed of your situation. What classes do you have today?" Angelina asked.

"Same as us. Double Transfiguration and double Potions." George said.

"Hmm. McGonagall didn't put me in a Potions class that would require the double period. She knows I'm rubbish at it." Angelina said. "But, luckily for you, Potions doesn't usually involve wand work and I know that Snape has extra cauldrons."

Merida followed the three Gryffindors to the Great Hall, which had held tables full of roasts and potatoes and poultry the night before, but now was full of toast and fruits and eggs.

Merida sat down with her new friends, unsure of what to eat. She watched Angelina pick through a plate of toast. Fred and George piled on every bit of food within arm's reach of them onto their plate.

"Aren't you going to eat something?" George asked her.

Merida nodded. She looked around for food she was familiar with.

Eggs. She knew eggs. And the small, purple berries that were scattered on the fruit plate.

Merida cracked the egg on her plate and instead of finding the watery yolk that she expected; the egg was solid beneath its shell.

"What's wrong?" Fred asked.

"Why is the egg hard?" She asked.

"It's a hard-boiled egg. What did you expect?"

"Liquid, I think."

"You can't eat raw eggs, Merida," Fred said in a low voice, "but hard-boiled eggs are pretty good. I'm sure better than uncooked. Just peel the shell off first."

Merida did what Fred told her and devoured the egg.

-0-

"I want to know who she is." Draco Malfoy spat at his fellow Slytherins. He was staring at Merida from across the Great Hall.

Crabbe grunted at him between bites of his breakfast.

Marcus Flint turned around to look at whom Draco was talking about.

"I know who that is." He said. His voice hit the consonants hard.

"How do you know and I don't?"

"Because my mum's uncle is Greyback, the werewolf."

"So?"

"Well, some Death Eater killed her family and gave her to Greyback. He's kept her ever since."

"Then how'd she get here?"

"I don't fuckin' know."

"Find out," Draco said quietly, "I'd like to know more about this."

-0-

Transfiguration had been a struggle.

Professor McGonagall was very understanding of Merida's lack of wand, but the class material was not. Merida had to sit during the entire double period watching her classmates turn chairs into rhinoceroses and back.

"Potions should be better." George tried to reassure her as they left lunch for the dungeons.

"Who is that?" She asked.

"Who?" Fred asked.

It was just the three of them now. Katie was only in her fourth year, and Lee and Angelina were enrolled in a Potions class that was not as advanced.

Merida indicated across the corridor, where Marcus Flint was standing. His eyes were locked on her.

"The tall fellow with the mucked up face and dark hair."

"That's Marcus Flint. He's captain of the Slytherin Quidditch team. Total wanker." Said George.

"Why's he looking at me?"

The three were walking right past Flint. As soon as they were within arms length of each other, Flint let out a quiet wolf-like howl.

Merida ran at him. "What do you know?" She screamed.

It surprised her that, the moment she almost pummeled Flint into the ground, he pulled out his wand and stunned her. Flint stood over her and gave her a swift kick to the gut. "I'll tell Greyback you said hello." He growled and walked away.

Everyone in the corridor froze. Who was this girl, and why did she try to attack Marcus Flint?

Before Merida could even react to Flint's kick, Fred and George were at her side.

"What the bloody hell just happened?!" They asked in unison.

"I-I don't know." Merida coughed hard.

"We should get you to the hospital wing."

"No," Merida said as she struggled to sit up, "I don't want to go back there. I'm all right."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." Merida stood up.

-0-

Professor Snape hardly looked at Merida when she approached him asking for some supplies for Potions. He only pointed her to the supply closet.

"You will find in your potion books the instructions for Draught of the Living Death. Do not touch the potion. We will focus on making potions at this difficultly for the rest of the year. If can manage this, then you will all receive an 'O' in your Potions O.W.L. at the end of the year. You may begin."

Fred and George both found that they were having difficulty with the potion, and it was taking a toll on them—and the rest of the class—after the first hour.

But not Merida. Every time Fred or George looked at her, she was swiftly chopping away and stirring her cauldron with ease.

"Bottle your potions and bring them to my desk. Do not spill the potion." Snape said when it was close to the end of the period.

Everyone shakily brought up their bottled potions. Merida gently slid hers on the desk.

Snape waved his wand. Potted plants appeared—one for each potion. He poured a little bit from the potion into each plant.

One of the leafy plants flowered. Another changed colors. Fred's potion made the leaves of the plant shrivel up, but the stalk remained alive. George's potion had the exact opposite effect. Each potion was flawed except for Merida's. Snape put a single drop of her potion into the soil of the plant. It quickly shriveled up. One of the leaves turned to ash.

"Perhaps too powerful, Bleddyngreer," Snape sneered, "but it is the best of these and I give you an E. If you keep this up, you will do well on your O.W.L.. The rest of you should be ashamed of your work and receive P's." He dismissed the class with a look of complete disapproval.

"Well, that was fun, yeah?" Merida said as they left the classroom.

Fred and George grunted.

"The only thing is—I don't remember how to get back to the common room."

Fred and George looked at each other. It seemed to Merida that they had a silent conversation.

"Yes, let's go back to the common room." George said.

Merida followed them up and down staircases and down corridors until finally they reached the Fat Lady. Fred hastily gave her the password. The twins pulled her up the boys' staircase into their dormitory.

They quickly checked each four-poster bed for occupants. Once they knew they were alone, they forcefully sat Merida down on Fred's bed.

"You owe us some answers." Fred said.

"Excuse me?"

"We've covered for you with everyone. You don't know what a hard-boiled egg is but you can brew a N.E.W.T.-level potion no problem? Marcus Flint knows who you are and no one else does?"

"We don't have a problem helping you, but you've got to tell us who you are." George said.

"I don't have to tell you anything." Merida stood up with a sense of defiance.

"Yes, you do!" Fred yelled.

"Why?"

"Because we're your friends." Fred said. His voice was quieter now, but still angry.

Merida stared at him, wide-eyed and breathing heavily. "Fine. What do you need to know?"

"How about why you attacked Flint before potions?" Fred asked.

Merida sat down. "He howled at me. Like a wolf."

"So you jumped him for it?" George asked.

"It meant he knew who I am."

"Well, who are you then?" Fred remained angry.

"You know my name."

"Where are you from? You know exactly what we want to know so just tell us."

Merida was just as angry as the twins. She kicked Fred's bed.

"Fine." She yelled. "I don't know a lot about my family. All I know is that Death Eaters attacked them when I was about two. But they didn't kill me. Instead, one of them kept me since."

"Who?"

"I don't know."

"A Death Eater raised you and you don't know his name?"

"It's not like we were friends. I wasn't being raised like he was my _father_. I thought my name was Half-Blood until I got here."

"Then _how_ do you know so much about magic?" Fred asked.

At this point, George realized not only Merida's discomfort, but her ignorance as well. She wasn't going to be able to answer any of these questions with anything he and Fred would want. He also knew that Fred was going to hound her anyway, so he might as well back down.

"I was taught."

"By a Death Eater." Fred's words were scathing. Merida, of course, did not know what he was accusing her of, but George did. Anyone else in Hogwarts would.

"Fred," George interjected, "I think you're getting a little ahead of yourself."

"No, George. She comes in here not knowing basic anything, but is incredible at magic? And now we find out that she was taught by a Death Eater?"

"I don't understand what you're getting at." Merida said.

"I'm saying that I'm starting to think you're not a victim of anything here."

"Fred. Stop." George said.

"George, we shouldn't bloody trust this girl."

Merida looked between the twins. Her eyes were wide. Her lips quivered. She gave one last look at Fred—right in his eyes, bearing into him—and ran to the girls' staircase. In a second, she was out of sight.


	8. Finder

It had been two hours since Merida ran up to the girls' dormitories.

George wanted to press his brother—he wanted to know exactly _what _Fred was thinking. It had to allude to Merida being a Death Eater, or at least working for them—which was a terrible accusation to make. George felt that Merida didn't understand that Fred had made this connection.

He also knew that Merida was hurt because Fred said they shouldn't trust her. She had put a lot of trust in them from the beginning. He didn't know much about Merida besides what she told them, but that was enough to understand that she had no reason to trust anyone.

George, though he thought and felt and knew all this, also thought and felt and knew that he shouldn't talk about it with Fred. They were better off discussing new potions to try out in the next week. Fred was distracted and a whole lot less angry that way.

That is, until their little brother and his friends came poking around.

"You both have been hanging around that girl. Is she safe?" Hermione asked. George wished she hadn't.

Fred grunted in annoyance.

"Sorry if we bothered you, then." Hermione said, huffily.

"We only wanted to know if she's associated with Black." Ron said.

"I think she is." Fred snarled.

"How d'ya mean?" asked Harry.

"She told us she was raised by Death Eaters. She won't tell us who and didn't tell us how she got away—that is, _if_ she actually got away."

"Fred, I can't believe you're saying this." George said.

"You're defending her?!" Fred exclaimed.

"What do you want me to do? She's terrified. She only just found out she had a family, and that they're dead. She clearly had no idea what you meant when you said we shouldn't trust her."

"Then why did she run off?"

"Because she put trust in us with no real reason to."

"Where'd she run off to?" Hermione asked.

"Girls' dormitories." The twins answered in unison.

Hermione nodded and then dashed up the stairs, leaving Harry and Ron to watch the argument between the twins.

-0-

"Hello?" Hermione knocked tentatively on the fifth year girls' dormitory door. She heard a faint moan and took that as a welcome to come in. "Merida?"

"Who is it?" Merida asked. Hermione couldn't see where she was.

"My name's Hermione Granger. I saw you run up here."

"Why would you follow me?" Merida's voice came from another side of the room this time. It's startled the younger girl.

"Because it looked like you had a fight with Fred and George."

"They're terrible."

"Why don't we sit down and talk about it? I might be able to understand—both of my best friends are boys."

Merida came out from behind Hermione, who jumped at her sudden appearance.

"How did you do that?" She exclaimed.

"Practice. Necessity." Merida answered. Hermione followed Merida to her bed where the two of them sat down.

"So what happened?" she asked.

"I'm not sure. Fred said that they shouldn't trust me. But I trusted them, so I don't understand." Merida clumsily explained.

"Why shouldn't they trust you?"

"I haven't a clue."

"Well, then, why did he say that?"

"I told him where I was from. Then he said it."

"Where are you from that makes you untrustworthy?"

"I'm not telling you. I don't need to."

"Harry and Ron are my best friends. I don't know if you've met them. They exclude me a lot. I'm not entirely sure as to why. It could be because I'm a girl and that makes me an outsider to them. Maybe they just don't like me. Sometimes I think we're only friends because I'm smart and they can use that—or they just feel sorry for me. Ron's an absolute dolt when it comes to talking to me. He's the least sensitive person I know and it hurts my feelings." Hermione felt that if she gave a little, she might get a little. "So why don't you tell me about what's going on with you and the twins more?"

"I only just met them. They were so nice. They showed me around Hogwarts. Fred was the first person to tell me my name."

"Tell you your name?"  
"I didn't know my name until I got here."

"Got here from where?"

"The forest."

"How'd you get into the forest?!"

"I walked."

"Why?"

"I needed Dumbledore."

"For what?"

"Safety."

Hermione concluded that, because of the ease and briefness of her answers, Merida was most likely telling the truth. For the girl's sake, she would tell that to Fred and George. Hopefully Merida would be able to keep the friends she made.

Hermione also decided she would become friends with Merida, as well, in case she was linked with Black. This was better than outright asking her, as she may not understand the gravity of the situation. She also may be working for Death Eaters, and Hermione did not want to upset the girl.

"Everyone is always safe at Hogwarts." Hermione said.

"Can you leave me, please?" Merida asked. Hermione nodded and left to tell Fred and George (Harry and Ron, too) that Merida was most likely not a Death Eater, nor was she under a Death Eater's direction.

-0-

Merida was a good hunter—she was also good at knowing how to hide from those who would hunt her. She was an excellent tracker and even better at covering her own tracks. So she could not understand how Fred and George kept finding her.

It had been a week since she last saw them, when Fred said he didn't trust her. She decided avoiding them was the best course of action, though it proved difficult. Not because it was near impossible to find her classes, which was the only time she had to spend time with the twins, and not because it was near impossible to avoid their friends, but because they kept _finding_ her. Merida couldn't figure out how. She would do her best to keep to the shadowy corridors, go to dinner at odd times, and hang about outside the castle. But every single time, they found her.

One Friday, the day before a Hogsmeade visit, Merida decided it would be easier to avoid the twins if she tracked them instead. They couldn't follow her if she was following them.

Or so she thought. Merida snuck down early for a quick breakfast before the twins even woke up. After scarfing down her apple and toast, Merida decided it would be best to hide in the corridor. She knew Fred and George would be down soon for something to eat, so making her way back to the Gryffindor common room would be unwise, and if she went anywhere else she ran the risk of not finding them until class.

She crouched behind an ugly statue of a one-eyed witch, waiting for the twins to enter the Great Hall.

"Finally, we've caught up to you." A voice came from behind Merida. She cursed herself.

"How did you find me?" She asked. She stood up and faced Fred and George.

"That's for us to know—"

"—and for you to find out." George finished. "We've been meaning to talk to you."

"No, thanks." Merida said, about to walk away.

"Seriously, Merida. We want to apologize for the other day. _I _want to apologize." Fred said.

"Why?" She asked defiantly.

"Because that wasn't how we're supposed to treat our friends." George said, though Fred was the one who wanted to say it.

Merida stared them down. She wasn't too sure if _she_ should trust _them_. But, she argued to herself, they had helped her out a lot. It couldn't hurt to give in a little, could it?

"All right." She said.

"Good. Now will you please stop avoiding us?" Fred asked.

"I will. Can you tell me how you kept finding me? I thought I was doing well with covering myself."

"Skill—" George said.

"—And general cleverness."

**HEY! Thanks for reading, everybody. You're all great.**


	9. Shopper

**The Prisoner of Azkaban part of the Wild Girl series is the hardest to write. It has no **_**very**_** important events aside from character building for Merida. All the good stuff happens after this year. All of the big chapters for the rest of the series are written already. I think that's why these are so hard right now—there's nothing much to build up to this year.**

**So I'm going to be posting shorter (maybe) chapters with less action and more friendship stuff.**

**Thanks for sticking it out.**

**-0-**

"Where is Miss Bleddyngreer?" Professor McGonagall's voice cut through Fred and George's conversation.

"She should be coming down soon." George said. As he said this, Angelina Johnson bounced down the staircase.

"Angie, is Merida coming down soon?"

"I swear, Fred," she laughed, "you're becoming better friends with her than you are with me."

"Well, is she?"

"She should be right down. What do you need her for?"

"I will be accompanying Miss Bleddyngreer to Diagon Alley today." McGonagall said.

The four looked up to hear a loud yawn from the top of the girls' staircase.

"Just the girl we were looking for!" Fred and George exclaimed upon seeing her.

Merida grunted at them and came slowly down the stairs.

"Miss Bleddyngreer, I expect you're ready?" McGonagall, well, said more than asked.

"What?"

"You will be getting your wand and proper robes in Diagon Alley today."

Merida made a puzzled face, but accepted this. "Can I eat first?"

-0-

Professor McGonagall had not realized how energetic Merida was. Perhaps it was because, in class, Merida had very little to do but watch.

But now, in Diagon Alley, the entire world was an option for the girl. She wanted to see everything.

Professor McGonagall felt bad for Merida. For the majority of her life, Merida only knew the bad that magic could do. She only knew the pain and destruction it could cause. She was only now realizing that the magical world, though dangerous, was wonderful.

Merida was sick to her stomach. She was excited to look about Diagon Alley. She wanted to see the enchanted storefronts and meet the eccentric shop owners. She wanted to buy every magical item she could find. But she still felt sick.

Upon arriving to Diagon Alley, Professor McGonagall had taken her to Gringotts Wizarding Bank. Merida did not trust the goblins. They were too new to her. She didn't like how they looked at her. She bet that they would taste disgusting.

McGonagall explained to Merida that the McKinnon family, though all dead, still had a vault in Gringotts. Being a pureblood family, the McKinnon's vault was passed on to another pureblood family after their murders. But now that Merida had escaped, the gold was hers.

Merida did not like walking around Diagon Alley with a small pouch full of galleons that did not feel rightfully hers.

But it was more than that. It was her family's vault; it was their money. It was over a decade's worth of dinners, robes, and other things that her mother never got to have. Trinkets that her mother would have bought for her father remain untouched in a shop somewhere. A wand in Ollivander's that was meant for Merida's brother will always be at Ollivander's.

Each galleon in Merida's pouch was a moment that her family would never get.

"You have your books, two uniform sets, a wand, a cauldron set…" Professor McGonagall listed off. Merida grinned at the thought of her cauldron set. It consisted of fifteen cauldrons of varying sizes. They were made of pewter, but coated in the loveliest shade of rose gold. It was the only thing, aside from her wand, that Merida did not purchase used. She knew enough about potions to want quality in her instruments.

"I believe that's everything, Miss Bleddyngreer. We'll need to head back to Hogwarts."

Professor McGonagall walked Merida to the Leaky Cauldron. Dumbledore had set up a floo network for them for easy travels.

"Hogwarts!" Merida shouted, her new-used trunk filled with her supplies next to her. She felt her body squeeze tightly and before she knew it, she was back in Professor McGonagall's office.


	10. Planner

**Just a quick update.**

**Thank you, jesusfreak777 (I think that's your username. I didn't bother to double check for this. Sorry.) for your multiple reviews of this story. I appreciate the feedback more than anything. Keep on being great!**

**Thanks for reading, all!**

**-0-**Fred and George were flabbergasted.

They followed Merida out of their Charms class with open mouths.

"Oi, what are you two gaping at?" Angelina caught up with them.

"Did you not see what just happened?" George asked.

"It was just Charms class?"

"That was no regular Charms class." Said George.

"She did things I never saw someone do before." Fred pointed at Merida, who was a few steps ahead.

"What are you going on about?"

"She didn't speak for the entire class." George explained.

"I hardly saw her touch her wand." Fred said.

"She couldn't have. I saw her change that frog into a mouse." Angelina said.

"She did that. Wordlessly."

Angelina looked at Merida hard. "Who _is _this girl?"

"Doesn't matter. Bleedin' brilliant." Fred said.

"Merida, do you know where you're going?" George called after her.

Her red-orange curls whipped around. "No clue." She smiled.

None of them saw her smile before. The twins couldn't help but grin right back.

"Come on. Defense Against the Dark Arts is this way."

-0-

Remus Lupin has had two classes with Merida Bleddyngreer as one of his students for two classes now. This was the third.

Every time, he was caught speechless for the first few moments of class. He hoped none of the students noticed he stared at Merida for most of this time.

Though Merida looked so much like her father, he couldn't help but think of Marlene. Marlene—his best friend. The first person at Hogwarts he told about his… condition. Of course, Sirius, Peter, and James had known and gave him camaraderie that he had never expected from anyone, but Marlene was the first to know.

There Merida sat, right in front of him.

Marlene's daughter. Remus' goddaughter.

And how she started at him with rage. It was almost as if she knew that he was responsible for her care.

Remus had no idea what he was teaching about. He was sure he was rambling. He hoped he was at least informative—he had to be, considering that his students were taking copious notes.

Or maybe they were writing each other notes. It didn't matter. So long as he seemed as if he knew what he was talking about.

So long as no one noticed that he stared at Merida for the entire period.

He wanted to tell her to stay after class. He wanted to tell her everything.

But he knew he couldn't. She was overwhelmed already. She didn't need to know.

-0-

"Bloody good teacher, that Lupin." Fred said later on in the common room.

"How does he just _know _all of that about grindylows and _everything_?" George asked with amazement in his voice.

"I don't think I was ever interested in Defense Against the Dark Arts before." Said Lee.

"I don't like him." Merida said simply.

"Why not?!" The three asked in unison.

"I don't trust him. He's got a secret."

"How do you know he's got a secret?" Lee asked.

"I know. I can see it. I can smell it."

"Well, what could the secret be?" George asked.

"I don't know," Merida lied, "but it seems dangerous."

"All of that aside—I think we need to use one of our products soon." Fred said.

"Now that sounds like something good. What do you think we should do?" George asked.

"I dunno, but I think it should be on someone specific."

"Marcus Flint." Merida said without a beat.

"Why him? How do you even know him?" Lee asked.

"They got into a fight pretty much the week she got here." George explained.

"I didn't hear about that," Lee said, "What happened?"

"Flint said something. I tried to fight him, but I didn't have a wand. He kicked me good." Merida said quietly.

"Marcus Flint it is. Let's brainstorm." Lee said.


	11. Defender

"That was a brilliant piece of magic!" Merida chuckled.

Fred and George had created a concoction that appeared as butter on a slice of toast. But, unlike butter, it would make the eater shout obscenities. Particular obscenities.

It made Marcus Flint shout about how he would do foul things to the Giant Squid.

"Shouldn't you two be focusing on O.W.L.s instead of playing pranks?" Katie asked from across the table.

"If we could make that, I think we'll be fine on our O.W.L.s.." George said.

Merida was in stitches as Professor Snape escorted Flint out of the Great Hall.

"Can you do that every day?" She asked in between laughs.

"As much as I'd like to—and believe me, I I'd love to—the more we repeat a prank, the higher the chance we'll get caught." Fred said.

"I'm sure everyone knows it was you already." Angelina said.

"Ah, but they have no proof." George said.

"Who's that?" Merida asked. She was pointing to a young boy with platinum hair at the Slytherin table.

"That's Draco Malfoy," Fred answered, "he's a prick."

"Why's he got that thing on his arm?"

"Remember our Care of Magical Creatures class?" George asked.

"With Hagrid."

"Right. Well, he was showing the third years hippogriffs and Malfoy is acting as if one attacked him in order to get Hagrid sacked."

"Sacked?"

"So he'll lose his job." Fred cleared up for her.

"We don't like him. No one does, save for the Slytherins. His family is rich." Said George.

Merida nodded, not taking her eyes off Malfoy.

-0-

The twins had gotten detention for what they did to Marcus Flint.

Merida felt that it was her fault. But Fred and George took the detention happily, as if it were a trophy. Merida thought she should take her time without Fred and George to further explore the castle. She agreed to meet Fred and George outside the library after their detention and knew that she would need some time to find it.

She was walking down a corridor that she knew was near the library when she heard aggressive voices. She hid behind a column.

"Where's Potter and Weasel? Not here to protect you?"

"Leave me alone, Malfoy." Merida recognized the voice as Hermione's. What was she doing talking to Draco Malfoy?

"Here I thought the three of you were inseparable. What happened? Weasley break the mudblood's heart?"

Hermione was quiet. Thankfully so, as Merida heard footsteps from behind her. She turned around quickly and faced Fred and George.

"Don't sneak up on me like that." She whispered.

"Why are we whispering?" They asked in quiet unison.

"Listen."

Malfoy called Hermione a mudblood again. Merida was unsure of what it really meant, but it sounded like Malfoy was spitting acid every time he said it. She noticed Fred and George becoming red with anger.

Finally, Merida couldn't take it.

"Head back to the common room," She whispered to the twins.

"What? Why?" They fought.

"Because." Merida did not give them time to leave. In what looked like one movement, she approached Hermione and Malfoy, and had Malfoy up against the wall by his throat.

"Don't you talk to her like that." Merida's voice was dangerously low.

"I've been wanting to meet you, Bleddyngreer. Greyback sends his love." Malfoy spat.

"Shut up," Merida held his neck tighter, "shut up."

"Oh, little half-blood doesn't like it when I talk about her _lover_."

Merida threw Malfoy across the corridor. None of the three onlookers could tell if it was due to brute force or if she used magic. Malfoy let out a groan of pain.

Merida approached his slumped body and leaned down.

"Get that sling off," she whispered audibly, "or I'll give you a reason to use it." She pulled up Malfoy by the scruff of his neck. He looked at her in fear and ran off.

"Are you ok, Hermione?" Merida asked. Hermione looked near tears.

"What was _that_?!" Fred exclaimed from the other side of the corridor.

"I told you to go to the common room."

"You didn't exactly give us enough time."

"Hermione—are you ok?" She asked again.

"I'm—I'm fine."

"Fred, George, can you walk ahead of us? I want to talk to Hermione."

Fred and George nodded and started walking off.

"What just happened?" Hermione asked.

"First off—where's Harry and Ron?"

"They're mad at me."

"Why?"

"Because they're dolts."

"Fair enough."

"How did you do that?"

"What?"

"Throw Malfoy like that."

"Anger. I heard he's trying to get Hagrid sacked. And he said rude things to you."

"Why was he talking to you like that?"

Merida would find that, no matter what condition she was in, Hermione would always ask the hard-hitting questions.

"It's difficult to explain."

"Try me."

Merida took a breath. Hermione had reached out to her before, so maybe she would not jump to the same conclusions that Fred did.

"When I was very very young, my family was killed. In the war, I think they say. I was the only one who wasn't. But no one knew about me because I was taken by Death Eaters. One—a particularly bad one, raised me. I told you I was in the forest. I was there because I recently got away. I came here. But somehow, Marcus Flint and Draco Malfoy know this."

"Why did he say your lover?" Hermione asked, perhaps too quickly.

"Probably just to bother me."

Hermione nodded. Her heart went out to Merida, yes, but she was still rather suspicious over the mysterious girl.


	12. Talker

**It's finals time for me. So naturally I'm writing fanfiction.**

**Enjoy!**

**-0-**

"I have a dragon heartstring core, as well." Hermione said while she examined Merida's wand.

"Mine's a dual core, I'm told. Dragon heartstring and Kelpie hair."

"Kelpie hair is rare. It's very difficult to make a wand with. What kind of wood is this?"

"Rowan. I don't know much about it, but I do know rowan makes a good bow."

"Bow?"

"You know. To shoot with."

"Oh," Hermione said, realizing Merida was talking about a bow and arrow.

"There are a surprising number of rowan trees in the forest."

"Really?"

"I was thankful for it. I never had my own wand. I had to adapt to the forest to survive as long as I did."

"You hunted, then?"

"I did."

Merida had begun to spend a lot of time with Hermione. Harry and Ron ignored the younger girl, so Merida was the only one to ever really talk with her as of late. As suspicious as Hermione was of Merida, she was thankful for the friendship.

"Harry snuck into Hogsmeade this weekend." Hermione said.

"How'd he manage that?"

"He said a map. I have half a mind to tell someone about it."

"Why?"

"Because Sirius Black is after him."

"I dunno. Being in a crowd of people might be better than him being alone here. With Lupin, nonetheless."

"So you know that something's going on with Professor Lupin, too?" Hermione was shocked. She thought that she was the only one to notice.

"I knew it the first day of class."

"How?"

"I could smell it." Merida said without thinking.

Hermione shifted her eyes. "What do you mean, you could smell it?"

"Hermione, if I tell you, you can't tell anyone else. Fred and George already jumped to the wrong conclusion once."

"I won't tell a soul."

Hermione and Merida shrunk back even further into the Gryffindor common room, hoping no one would come by.

"The Death Eater that raised me was Fenrir Greyback."

"I'm sorry?" Hermione didn't recognize the name. Why should she? She was muggle born, after all, and not all of the Death Eaters had extensive records.

"Fenrir Greyback is a noted werewolf."

Hermione considered this. "But you're not a werewolf?"

"No."

"How?"

"He never bit me during a full moon."

Merida was feeling lightheaded. Hermione was the first person she told this to.

"That's how you know there's something going on with Professor Lupin."

"That's how I can smell that Lupin is a werewolf."

"So I'm right." Hermione muttered.

"How long have you known?"

"I had the idea since the first day of class. I only just put all the pieces together."

"I don't trust him."

"Is there anyone you _do_ trust?" Hermione asked.

"Fred, and George. You."

"I don't know how anyone could trust the twins. They're always pulling stunts left and right."

"They've been there for me since the day I got her. They were amongst the first people to ever be kind to me. I owe them enough now."

Hermione felt shame in her heart. She reached out to Merida because she was suspicious of her. She suspected Merida was somehow connected to Sirius Black.

But her empathy for Merida outweighed her suspicion. This complete stranger was essentially a prisoner of a notorious Death Eater, and she escaped.

Supposedly, Hermione added as an afterthought. It's not complete fact just because Merida said it.

But Hermione's heart was still heavy with shame. The proof that Merida was completely honest about herself was much more tangible than proof against her.

Dumbledore took her in. Dumbledore believed her. That should be confirmation enough.

Though Hermione felt suspicious, shameful, and empathetic, she was starting to value the friendship she formed with Merida. If anything, Merida understood what it was like to be a friend with two boys. She knew was it was like being the only girl. And though Fred and George did have female friends—most of the Gryffindor quidditch team was girls—they really clung to Merida.

"Fred and George seem scared of me." Merida said bluntly.

"To be honest, Merida, you're kind of scary. Look what you did to Malfoy!"

"No. Not that. I've punched Fred before. I don't think they're scared of that. They're scared of me in class."

"What do you mean?"

"They watch me in all of our classes like they've never seen magic before. If anything, I should be watching them like that."

"You should talk to them about it."

"Maybe."

"Merida, I hate to go, but I've got to meet with Hagrid about Buckbean."

"Oh. Yeah. Go. Good luck, Hermione."

Hermione rushed out of the fifth year girls' dormitory and down the staircase. Then right into Fred and George Weasley.

"Granger!" Fred greeted.

"Fancy meeting you here." George grinned.

"Anything new on our little friend?" Fred asked.

"Oh. Yes. I've got to get going. But I'm starting to think she's not connected to anything. I think she's telling the truth. We'll talk later." With that, Hermione squeezed between the twins and out the portrait hole, and all the way to Hagrid's.


	13. Sleeper

**As I've said before, I'm going to write shorter chapters for a little while to get the story moving. As I've also said—my finals are finished June 10****th****. Which might mean more updates after June 10****th****? Anyway, thanks for reading.**

-0-

"We should go find him." Merida said while sitting atop a sleeping bag.

Sirius Black had attacked the Fat Lady's portrait. All of the students were huddled in the Great Hall with sleeping bags Dumbledore had summoned.

"You want to find a dark wizard." Fred said, dumbfounded.

"Why not?"

"I dunno, 'cos he could _murder_ you?" Fred looked at George, who was fast asleep next to him.

"It's not like anyone would notice we're gone. Everyone's got their eyes on Harry Potter."

Fred considered this then realized how insane the idea was.

"Absolutely _not_. We're not risking our lives like that."

"But why not? We'd get to defeat a dark wizard."

"Who says we'd defeat him?!"

"Me."

Fred shook his head. Merida clearly had the Gryffindor bravery. Perhaps too much of the Gryffindor bravery. Sometimes, her fearlessness and ferocity scared him. He remembered what she did to Malfoy and shuddered—Fred did not want to get on Merida's bad side.

The two were silent for a bit. Most everyone around them was asleep.

"Why are you still awake?" Fred asked.

"I haven't been sleeping a whole lot."

"Then sleep!"

"Angelina says I get something she calls night terrors. I wake everyone in the dormitory up in my sleep, she says."

Fred felt his insides tear. Ever since he met Merida, he wanted to reach out to her somehow. He couldn't begin to imagine the pain and terror she had experienced before—and on top of coming to Hogwarts and learning about her family, there was no way she was ok.

But Merida always seemed all right. She was always laughing with Fred and George. She excelled in her classes.

She had been doing so well in classes, Fred was weary of her. How did she learn so much magic where she was?

Every though Hermione had given Merida approval, Fred couldn't help but not completely trust her. There was no way she could know as much magic as she did while living with Greyback without knowing dark magic.

_Living as a captive_, Fred corrected himself.

Fred reached out to hold Merida's hand. She recoiled.

"Sorry." They said at the same time.

Merida didn't think anything of what just happened. She didn't know that most girls would have analyzed the situation top to bottom. Merida didn't think about why Fred would grab her hand. All she knew what instinct, not analysis.

Fred didn't know what got into him. He thought Merida might need comfort, but he should have known better. She was stronger than anyone he had ever met.


End file.
